New Jersey's Brett Brach to make debut with Patriots

Brett Brach throws in 2006 during his high school days at Freehold Township.
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STAFF FILE PHOTO/2006
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BRIDGEWATER — Growing up in Freehold, there were plenty of times where Brett Brach would find himself driving past TD Bank Ballpark. But even after years of not setting foot in the stadium for one reason or another, the 26-year-old right-handed pitcher told his agent there was only one place he wanted to play after getting released by the Cleveland Indians organization earlier in the year.

"I knew that Somerset was in the Atlantic League, and I talked to a couple guys that were on the team here and they said they really liked it, so I figured I'd give it a shot," said Brach, who will make his debut for the team on Sunday afternoon.

"I had nothing else out there, so I figured why not come out here and play and see what happens."

Brach, who starred at Monmouth University for three years before being selected in the 10th round by the Indians in the 2009 draft, was let go after getting off to a slow start with Triple-A Columbus this year. In three appearances, the two-sport letter-winner at Freehold Township High School posted an 0-2 record with an 8.10 ERA in sporadic work.

"I think it was just they had a plethora of guys," said Brach of his mid-May release. "They had a lot of young arms and they signed a lot of free agents, and there really wasn't enough innings for me. They let me go to try to find another job, and hopefully something ends up panning out. But there's no hard feelings there, it was just a numbers game more than anything."

Brach, who has a 33-41 career minor league record with a 3.75 ERA in six seasons, should be limited to 60-65 pitches in his first home state outing since finishing his collegiate career with the Hawks five years ago.

"I had a great time (at Monmouth), and I haven't played in New Jersey since then," he said. "I wanted to come back and be around friends and family. Hopefully it'll work out and be nice."

Brach's arrival couldn't come at a better time for Somerset, whose rotation has been decimated this week after losing Zach Kroenke and Matt Maloney to the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds organizations, respectively.

"It worked out at the right time where there was a guy available, because there's not always guys available and you have to take them off your existing team and maybe force them to do something he's not comfortable," said manager Brett Jodie. "We're very fortunate to have him come in at this time, and we're just hoping he gives us a chance to win when he gets here. That's the unknown — are we going to get a guy that's going to be able to come in and compete right away? I feel like we are."